Mortgage Rates Continue , to Fall, Raising Hopes of the , Fed Cutting Rates.<br />ABC reports that borrowing costs for <br />home loans continued to ease this week, <br />with the average rate on a 30-year mortgage <br />falling to its lowest level since April.<br />According to mortgage buyer <br />Freddie Mac, the rate fell from<br />6.95% to 6.87% last week. .<br />That figure is still significantly higher than <br />what the rate was during the same time last year, <br />which was at an average of 6.67%. .<br />15-year fixed-rate mortgages <br />also eased, falling from <br />6.17% last week to 6.13%. .<br />During the same time last year, <br />the average rate was at 6.03%.<br />Those higher rates can add hundreds of dollars <br />to monthly costs for borrowers, which limits the <br />purchasing options of potential homebuyers.<br />Mortgage rates fell for <br />the third straight week <br />following signs of cooling <br />inflation and market <br />expectations of a <br />future Fed rate cut, Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, via ABC.<br />ABC reports that rates are influenced by a number <br />of factors, including the Federal Reserve's interest <br />rate policy and the 10-year Treasury yield.<br />ABC reports that rates are influenced by a number <br />of factors, including the Federal Reserve's interest <br />rate policy and the 10-year Treasury yield.<br />Due to yields also beginning to ease, the Federal <br />Reserve could start to drop its main interest rate <br />after hiking it up to the highest level in over 20 years.<br />Last week, Fed officials suggested that they would make <br />just one cut to their benchmark interest rate in 2024, <br />down from previous projections of three cuts for the year.
